Cyclodextrin is known to form complexes with certain materials. In many compositions, cyclodextrin is used as a carrier for active materials and thus it is desirable to form complexes between cyclodextrin and the active materials in order for the cyclodextrin to act as a carrier for the active materials. This is especially prevalent in the pharmaceutical area, where cyclodextrins have been traditionally used as carriers to deliver active materials. However, when cyclodextrin is used as a carrier for active material and is strongly complexed with the active material, the cavities of the cyclodextrin molecules are filled such that the cyclodextrin is not available to complex with other molecules.
Surfaces, especially household surfaces such as fabrics, countertops, and the like, often contain unwanted molecules, such as malodorous molecules. Cyclodextrin molecules are capable of capturing unwanted molecules from surfaces; however, cyclodextrin compositions used to treat surfaces containing unwanted molecules must have cyclodextrin that is available to complex with the unwanted molecules in order to capture and remove the unwanted molecules from the surface being treated. Compositions have been disclosed that are useful for controlling malodor on surfaces, wherein the compositions comprise uncomplexed cyclodextrin. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,942,217 issued Aug. 24, 1999 to Trinh et al. teach compositions for controlling malodor on surfaces wherein the compositions can comprise uncomplexed cyclodextrin and materials that are cyclodextrin-compatible, such as cyclodextrin-compatible surfactants and cyclodextrin-compatible antimicrobial actives. The materials in these compositions are selected such that they do not complex with cyclodextrin in solution, thus providing available, uncomplexed cyclodextrin in solution to capture the malodor from the treated surfaces.
However, this has resulted in only a limited range of materials being suitable for addition to cyclodextrin-containing compositions of this type. Certain materials are desirable as components of the compositions but have hitherto generally not been added due to their incompatibility with cyclodextrin. In particular, it has been felt desirable to provide cleaning compositions which contain cyclodextrin, but this has been limited by the fact that cleaning compositions often contain surfactants which are incompatible with cyclodextrins.
It has thus been desired to develop compositions comprising cyclodextrin-incompatible surfactant and cyclodextrin, such that the cyclodextrin is functionally-available to capture unwanted molecules from treated surfaces.